The fiscal fourth quarter net loss of $963,000 represents a 68 percent improvement compared with the company's net loss of $3.01 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004. Revenue of $6.3 million was up 28 percent from the revenue of $4.9 million that the company reported for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004.

For the fiscal year, Amtech (Tempe, Ariz.) reported revenue of $27.9 million, up 45 percent from the $19.3 million the company reported for fiscal 2004. The company reported a net loss for the fiscal year of roughly $300,000, or 12 cents per diluted share, less than 10 percent of the company's fiscal 2004 net loss, which was $3.2 million.

Amtech said revenue from Bruce Technologies, the former Kokusai Semiconductor Equipment Corp. horizontal diffusion furnace unit acquired by Amtech in July 2004, contributed $5.3 million to the increase in revenues for the fiscal year year.

Amtech, which provides production and automation systems and supplies to the semiconductor, silicon wafer, solar cell and MEMS industries, said an inventory write down of $300,000 contributed it the company's fiscal 2005 net loss. In fiscal 2004, Amtech recorded a charge of $1.1 million to provide a full valuation allowance on its net deferred tax assets.

Net new orders in fiscal 2005 increased to $35 million, Amtech said, up 84 percent from $19 million in fiscal 2004. The company's previous record for net new orders, set in 2000, was $30 million. As a result of the new orders, the company's order backlog reached $14.4 million on Sept. 30, a 97 percent increase from the $7.3 million backlog at the same time a year ago.

Amtech said bookings of new customer orders in the fourth quarter were $14.4 million, a level not previously reached since the third quarter of 2000.

"I am pleased with the improvement of our results versus last year," said J.S. Whang, Amtech president and CEO, in a statement. "Particularly encouraging is the level of new orders, fueled in large part by activity in the solar cell industry."